Hello all,

I've got a very big newb question here. I've been taking a RHEL user and sysadmin class for work and having no prior experience with Linux, I actually am starting to appreciate it. I was wondering what the bonuses are to using it in a home environment is vs Windows as I am seriously considering switching one of my and my wife's machines over to it. Opinions and insight appreciated, TIA.

Hi,
Welcome to LQ!

If you do not subscribe to Red Hat then my suggestion to you is; By using CentOS you will have updates available & free to use license so you can use/experiment with the OS.
Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

just do it, you can if space is permitting, set up a dual boot, or VM of Linux and just give it a go until you get stuck on Linux. It might benefit you too having it installed at home to get a better understanding of what you're learning in class by using a Linux OS at home. practice makes perfect.

Next thing you know you'll be setting up a web server and ...

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Yes, there is a very large amount of overlap between CentOS and RHEL. So using it will be rather helpful for learning RHEL. But there are some services and tools only in RHEL and you will need the subscription for them. That said, you might also look at something like Linux Mint for home use since it is more comfortable for beginners. I like the underlying Debian origins and the result broader selection packages but the main reason to recommend it is that so much is pre-installed and pre-configured so that it is a rather gentle transition even if it is a new experience.

About the migration itself, you might take it one machine at a time. Experiment with one using various distros until you get a feel for what works for you and what additional customizations are desired. I found the home transition worthwhile and haven't looked back. For me the tipping point was I had been using Debian and, later, Red Hat smoothly at work and was frustrated with the chronic difficulties from Windows machine(s) at home.

Edit: in short, it'll be easier to use and a whole lot less maintenance.

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Viruses? Malware? Defrag? Oh that's right, you'll never have to worry about those again.

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And do not forget that -- OK I am just going to reboot or shutting it off now, Then Windows say Oh no your not!!!! Don't even think about doing a hard power off even, I've got updates to install and well too bad I am going to be taking over your entire system for an undetermined amount of time before you'll even get your system back to use it.

I would definitely encourage you to use linux at home. I dual boot it with Windows on all of my computers (except servers) to optimize flexibility, as suggested above by BW-Userx.

As to which version to use at home, I guess it depends on how important it is for you to have a system resembling what you are using in class and at work. If it is important, the CentOS suggestion by OneBuck makes a lot of sense to me. If not, linux beginners really like Mint these days, even more than Ubuntu, which used to be the beginner's system of choice not so long ago. If you opt for Mint, check out its different "flavours" (desktop environments, mostly, but one line is Debian-based instead of Ubuntu-based).

Let us know how it goes !

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CentOS is not all that mysterious!

The first thing to note is that you need extra repositories for media codecs and some software
http://wiki.centos.org/AdditionalResources/Repositories
Note the point about setting priorities to prevent the base installation from getting overwritten, or terrible things can happen! For finding where to get software, see
http://pkgs.org/
and for finding alternatives to windows programs
http://linuxappfinder.com/alternatives

The second thing is that CentOS is best with Gnome, acceptable with KDE, and tiresome with anything else. If you don't like Gnome, then install the Gnome version, add your preferred desktop, and enable it. That way you get all the graphical "housekeeping tools" that are Gnome specific, or lack help-files without Gnome.

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VirtualBox is your friend on this one, alowing you to try any distro and mess with it without worrying about breaking you pc(I'm posting from an Arch vm). That said it sound like you have some linux experiance, you should be able to install or dual boot no problem.

With Linux most people either LOVE it or HATE it or they never really used it .

Doesn't crash, doesn't freeze, no blue screen of death! If a badly-written program misbehaves in Linux, the program crashes, not the system.

No malware, no need for antivirus unless you exchange data with Windows users. You only need a firewall if you run server programs for other people.

No forced updates; you update when you choose. And it's fast. Windows updates can take a long time. No need to reboot after updates either.

Above all, it's easy to understand how your system works because there is no deliberate obfuscation in the name of commercial secrecy. And it's easy to fix problems too, because there are plenty of diagnostic tools and everything that happens is logged.

Thanks all for the input.
My plan was pick up a netbook or other laptop and go with Centos as I was told that translates what I learn in RHEL more directly. I will take a look at mint as well. Aside from my laptop all the others in the house are used for browsing/streaming/pictures so no problems there. My laptop is used for work that requires I.E. for the for security certs and whatnot.

Windows is better for handling DRM (Kindle books, Adobe digital editions, etc.). For everything else, it's Linux all the way.

If you're willing to deal with Google's policies, Chrome on linux works very well with MOST DRM nowadays.

Surf DistroWatch; learn lots of HowLinuxWorks, bottom up! Try LQ's #1: Slackware

JumpIN: *within* 10minutes of reading this (not counting download time), get a
CentOS7 VBox .vdi up&running on one of your M$Win PCs! Seriously! OK?

Welcome to LQ; best wishes; ENJOY Linux! (RHC{SA,E} is opposite of IckyGuiDrm)

This. CentOS IMO is the closest distro to Red Hat. If you use it every day you'll get valuable hands-on experience. One of the best ways to learn.

I used CentOS for a short while with the GNOME desktop. I remember having to add the Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) repository to get some software I needed. There's an article on the CentOS wiki that might be of some use for you.

Apologies I can't be more specific as I haven't used CentOS for years, but I wish you the best of luck in your RHEL classes!

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